head

hand

arm

heart

head

hand

arm

heart

African masks rarely had any governmental purpose and served only as decorative objects, interesting as visual art pieces

especially before the advent of colonial rule, African masking societies boasted extensive regulatory and judicial powers

a mask, combined with held objects, music, and dance gestures, invokes a specific named spirit character who is enacted a part of strongly ritualized dramas

for many groups in West and Central Africa, masking plays an active role in the socialization process, especially for men, who control most masking on the continent

most African masks serve, among many other purposes, to crystallize varieties of human behavior-- caricatured, ordinary, amusing, bizarre, serious, etc

African masks rarely had any governmental purpose and served only as decorative objects, interesting as visual art pieces

especially before the advent of colonial rule, African masking societies boasted extensive regulatory and judicial powers

a mask, combined with held objects, music, and dance gestures, invokes a specific named spirit character who is enacted a part of strongly ritualized dramas

for many groups in West and Central Africa, masking plays an active role in the socialization process, especially for men, who control most masking on the continent

most African masks serve, among many other purposes, to crystallize varieties of human behavior-- caricatured, ordinary, amusing, bizarre, serious, etc

Mimics the African tribes' system of identification

A means to tell stories

As a religious symbol

Purely decorative in nature

Mimics the African tribes' system of identification

A means to tell stories

As a religious symbol

Purely decorative in nature

Realist depictions are rare, with the head in particular being oversized

Historically, the most prized skill has been the exact recreation of human features without flattery

Depictions of human beings and animals were banned for religious reasons

Statues were typically larger than life size to emphasize the subject's grandeur

Realist depictions are rare, with the head in particular being oversized

Historically, the most prized skill has been the exact recreation of human features without flattery

Depictions of human beings and animals were banned for religious reasons

Statues were typically larger than life size to emphasize the subject's grandeur

the actors under the masks

ancestors

spirits of the earth

local animals

the actors under the masks

ancestors

spirits of the earth

local animals